Project Worker Midlothian

• CFS25/01

Role

A fantastic opportunity to come and join the Children First team in Midlothian

Children First’s ambition is for every child in Scotland to be safe, loved and well with their family. As a charity we offer emotional, practical, and financial support to help families to put children first and campaign to uphold the rights of every child.

This is an exciting opportunity to be part of our team in Midlothian who are funded to support families experiencing challenges relating to parental substance use, poverty, poor mental health and trauma amongst other factors. In addition, we support Kinship carers and the children and young people in their care. You will join a team offering both whole family and individual supports, where systemic and relational approaches underpin the work we do. We offer peer-led groups and connections through community supports also.

If you have experience of working within child protection processes, are committed to restorative approaches, meaningfully involving children and families, and have a professional qualification in a relevant area such as Social Work, Teaching or equivalent in Childcare/Social Care or related area, accredited counselling qualification, or other relevant qualification at SCQF level 9 or higher then we want to hear from you.

Children First are determined that the full incorporation of the UNCRC means that children will have their rights respected in all areas of their lives and will have a real say in the way they are supported. If you share this determination, we would love to hear from you.

What kind of people are we looking for?

• Have experience of keeping children safe in their own families
• Are fiercely passionate about children’s rights
• Think it’s a privilege to work with and on behalf of children and families
• Are kind and will bring their whole selves to the job: heart and mind

What kind of team member will you be?

Knowing our ambition for children, you will be someone who is:

• Resilient, skilled and knowledgeable who wants to transform children’s lives
• Determined to support children to stay safely with their own family
• Big hearted and courageous
• Able to build strong relationships and to manage the tricky conversations
• Compassionate and understanding of trauma
• A cool head and clear-minded at times of pressure
• Inspiring colleagues and teams to be even better
• An amazing ambassador for children and Children First

Above all else, the most important thing to us is that you are someone who will do the right thing for children and their families at every turn.

Interview Date: It is anticipated interviews will take place on 6/2/25

Barnardo's are recruiting Senior Practitioner (Project Worker 3) to be involved in the delivery of our Residential Service, to support children and young people in a therapeutic and trauma-enhanced approach in a residential child care setting. This position is based in our Residential Home and candidate will be expected to be part of the rota system of working including sleepover and evening shifts.

We are looking for a committed practitioner with experience of working with young people and their families preferably within the context of care experienced. They should be passionate about improving outcomes for young people who are accommodated through child-centred therapeutic approach underpinned by Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy principles.

At Barnardo's we believe every child has the right to a fulfilling life, to realise their potential and to have a positive future. Working in partnerships, we focus on building stronger families and improving family bonds.

When completing your application please refer to your skills knowledge and experience in relation to the Person Specification, Job Description and Additional Information document (if applicable). This should be done with an understanding of the context of the service described.

Pay & Reward Framework

We know that our colleagues go above and beyond in delivering our vital work, driven by their passion and commitment to Barnardo's values. We also know that we can only realise our ambitions and achieve better outcomes for more children, thanks to the talent, hard work and creativity of our people.

For all these reasons, we are committed to a new approach to pay and reward, to ensure it is fair, attractive and progressive, which was rolled out in April 2023. This is a positive change for the charity, and a part of our People & Culture Strategy. It will assist us in supporting colleagues to belong, thrive and grow in their colleague journey at Barnardo's and in time will offer clear routes of progression for colleagues in both their career and their pay.

Whilst the full pay band and salary range is advertised, our approach to starting salaries is to appoint between the minimum to mid-point of the pay band – this ensures that pay steps are available to reward our colleagues annually based on their contribution to excellence and alignment to our values and behaviours. More details on Barnardo's pay framework can be found upon application.

Workplace Offer: What it means for you

The world of work has changed. We are understanding of what works best for our colleagues both current and future as we look to embrace this new way of working. Our hybrid working initiative is based on trust, flexibility and empowerment. We understand our workplace offer means different things to different people, and we encourage those conversations. This may mean working at one of our stores, services, working at home, at one of our Collaboration Hubs or any combination of these.

• Barnardo's believe in creating equality of opportunity in the workplace and supporting people to manage their work-life balance; we are therefore open to offering flexible working arrangements.
• 26 days annual leave plus bank holidays, increasing after 5 years service
• The ability to buy up to another 5 days annual leave via our HolidayPlus scheme
• A host of family friendly leave options including company Maternity Paternity and Adoption pay; together with all family additional leave options
• Service related sick pay from day 1
• Access to a Group Personal Pension with a matched 4% or 6% contribution from Barnardo's. Ability to pay via salary sacrifice to garner both tax and NI savings on your own contribution
• Death in service cover of 4x annual earnings for all staff contributing to our Group Personal Pension
• Interest free season ticket loans
• Discounts and cashback from at high street shops including major supermarkets, cinemas, gyms, leisure/theme parks, holidays and much more via our Benefit Portal
• 20% discount at Barnardo's stores
• Opportunity to purchase a health cash plan to claim towards dental, glasses, therapy etc
• Free access to round the clock employee assistance program for advice and support
• Access to Barnardo's Learning and Development offer

*T&C's apply based on contract

About Barnardo's

We are committed to being an inclusive employer and cultivating a culture where everyone can belong and thrive through inclusion and connectivity. We want our workforce to be reflective of the communities we work with, and for equality, diversity and inclusion to be embedded in everything we do. We are a Disability Confident Leader, are progressing our ambition to be an anti-racist organisation with Anti-Racism Commitments and actions in place and have networks for colleagues who are disabled, LGBT+, Black and Minoritised Ethnic and Women. We particularly encourage applications from Black and Minoritised Ethnic and/or disabled candidates who are currently underrepresented in our workforce. For disabled applicants, we offer reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process.

Barnardo's Stronger Families offers an exciting opportunity to join an established team who are developing Attachment and Trauma Informed Practice models to support families with children aged 0-13 yrs across Fife. Barnardo's has been established in Fife for over 20 years and the Stronger Families service and support to children and families has been a consistent feature within our services across Fife.

Stronger Families offers intensive support to families (6-10hrs per week), and for 6-9mths working alongside partner agencies to prevent family breakdown. This level of support will hopefully help families to make effective and sustainable change to enable the children to safely remain at home.

Due to the intensive nature of this work your caseload will be around 4 families which will enable you to build good relationships with the children, young people & families and through your support will help them effect meaningful change.

You will have experience of working with children & families and will be required to deliver direct services to families who have a range of complex needs.

Experience of working with children and families and a working knowledge of attachment theories and Trauma Informed Practice would be extremely desirable as would a knowledge of The Promise as the principles are embedded into our service delivery.

This is an exciting opportunity to join an established, dynamic and friendly team where you will have the opportunity to expand and share your skills and experience within a supportive environment. The service sits within a locality with 4 other services further enhancing the learning opportunities and skill sharing with those supporting Children, Young People and families in different ways.

Pay & Reward Framework

We know that our colleagues go above and beyond in delivering our vital work, driven by their passion and commitment to Barnardo's values. We also know that we can only realise our ambitions and achieve better outcomes for more children, thanks to the talent, hard work and creativity of our people.

For all these reasons, we are committed to a new approach to pay and reward, to ensure it is fair, attractive and progressive, which was rolled out in April 2023. This is a positive change for the charity, and a part of our People & Culture Strategy. It will assist us in supporting colleagues to belong, thrive and grow in their colleague journey at Barnardo's and in time will offer clear routes of progression for colleagues in both their career and their pay.

Whilst the full pay band and salary range is advertised, our approach to starting salaries is to appoint between the minimum to mid-point of the pay band – this ensures that pay steps are available to reward our colleagues annually based on their contribution to excellence and alignment to our values and behaviours. More details on Barnardo's pay framework can be found upon application.

Workplace Offer: What it means for you

The world of work has changed. We are understanding of what works best for our colleagues both current and future as we look to embrace this new way of working. Our hybrid working initiative is based on trust, flexibility and empowerment. We understand our workplace offer means different things to different people, and we encourage those conversations. This may mean working at one of our stores, services, working at home, at one of our Collaboration Hubs or any combination of these.

• Barnardo's believe in creating equality of opportunity in the workplace and supporting people to manage their work-life balance; we are therefore open to offering flexible working arrangements.
• Annual Leave entitlement for full-time colleagues is 26 days per annum, increasing to 27 days per annum, after 3 years Barnardo's service, 29 days per annum, after 5 years Barnardo's service and 30 days per annum, after 7 years Barnardo's service. Those working less than full time are entitled to the same level of holiday pro-rata
• The ability to buy up to another 5 days annual leave via our HolidayPlus scheme
• A host of family friendly leave options including company Maternity Paternity and Adoption pay; together with all family additional leave options
• Service related sick pay from day 1
• Access to a Group Personal Pension with a matched 4% or 6% contribution from Barnardo's. Ability to pay via salary sacrifice to garner both tax and NI savings on your own contribution
• Death in service cover of 4x annual earnings for all staff contributing to our Group Personal Pension
• Interest free season ticket loans
• Discounts and cashback from at high street shops including major supermarkets, cinemas, gyms, leisure/theme parks, holidays and much more via our Benefit Portal
• 20% discount at Barnardo's stores
• Opportunity to purchase a health cash plan to claim towards dental, glasses, therapy etc
• Free access to round the clock employee assistance program for advice and support
• Access to Barnardo's Learning and Development offer

*T&C's apply based on contract

About Barnardo's

We are committed to being an inclusive employer and cultivating a culture where everyone can belong and thrive through inclusion and connectivity. We want our workforce to be reflective of the communities we work with, and for equality, diversity and inclusion to be embedded in everything we do. We are a Disability Confident Leader, are progressing our ambition to be an anti-racist organisation with Anti-Racism Commitments and actions in place and have networks for colleagues who are disabled, LGBT+, Black and Minoritised Ethnic and Women. We particularly encourage applications from Black and Minoritised Ethnic and/or disabled candidates who are currently underrepresented in our workforce. For disabled applicants, we offer reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process.

• 29 days annual leave PLUS bank holidays, with up to 5 additional days for continuous service and option to buy or sell leave
• Gain professional qualifications and excellent training/development opportunities
• Flexible maternity, adoption, and paternity packages
• Pension with up to 7% employer contribution with included life assurance cover
• Staff discount portal and Blue Light Card eligibility with 15,000 national retailers discounts.

We are one of the largest children’s charities in the UK and have been making a difference to the lives of the UK’s vulnerable children for over 150 years.

Find out more about Action for Children on our careers page, X, LinkedIn, Facebook or YouTube to get to know us better.

A bit about the role

Our housing support and care at home service is all about empowering young individuals to live independently within their own homes and communities. We currently provide full-time, 2:1 care and support for two wonderful young people, a young man and a young lady, both of whom have learning disabilities and occasionally face challenging behaviours and hold their own tenancies.

Our approach is centred on assisting them with daily routines, personal care, and medication, all while nurturing their zest for life and activity. We keep them engaged with exciting adventures, walks, swimming, surfing, park visits, and exploring new experiences.

As a Housing Support Worker in our team, you'll play a crucial role in creating and implementing personalised care plans. You'll have the rewarding opportunity to support our young people in their journey towards greater independence, helping them achieve milestones, make informed decisions, and actively engage with their community.

At the heart of our philosophy is the belief that behaviour is a form of communication. We strive to understand the messages behind challenging behaviours and guide individuals to express themselves in positive and effective ways.

How you'll help to create brighter futures

Working in this environment can be so rewarding when you see the difference you're truly making. Our aim is to give every young person we work with the support and guidance to reach their potential and support their aspirations for a positive future, and this is a vital part of our work.

Some key responsibilities of a Housing Support Practitioner are;

• Helping young people in all aspects of their daily lives.
• Maintaining effective working relationships and communication with colleagues, young people and families.
• Being alert to child protection and safeguarding policies and procedures.
• Helping young people transition into happy and healthy adults.
• Being solution-focused and building on strengths.
• Achieving the highest standards of safeguarding, whether through direct care provision or support activities to the young people who come into contact with our services, or by appropriately reporting concerns.

Let's talk about you

You don't need a lot of previous experience or qualifications for this role – we're looking for someone with a positive attitude, and the desire and commitment to giving the best care to children and young people.

• A positive approach, providing a fun environment for the young people in our care.
• Ideally, a HNC and SVQ 3 in a social care discipline (or a qualification which would meet the registration requirements) or a commitment to working towards these.
• Ability to manage difficult situations.
• Willingness to participate in relevant on-the-job or off-site training.
• Providing support and care.
• A commitment to working on a rota pattern, which includes weekends and some bank holidays.

Good to know

Please note we are unable to offer sponsorship for this role.

At Action for Children, we're dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive, and authentic workplace. We actively encourage applications from Black, Asian & Minority Ethnic, and disabled candidates as they are under-represented within Action for Children. We want to take deliberate and purposeful action to ensure equal opportunity to all groups in society and for Action for Children.

Male staff are under-represented within our Children Service roles. We would like to encourage more male applicants for our Children Service roles.